welcome to "newsline." it's friday, january 4th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo.

noer mothers and fathers are starting the new year off. a rebel basic vis said opposition fighters are surrounding air bases. residents report fighting in places that have seen a lot of that. the two sides are fighting for control of an air base in the capital damascus. at least 30 people were killed. united nations officials say now more than 60,000 have been killed since the uprising began in march 2011. power e lelectric crews nee to remove hundreds of spent fuel

rods. it's a process that's expected to take 40 years. >> translator: the state of emgency is over and we're now in a transition phase with efforts focused on decommissioning. the government will do all it can to help speed up this process. >> during the initial decommissioning phases tepco workers are need to remove the spent fuel. the first part will begin this year. they plan to start in mid-november and complete the process in december 2014, a year earlier than initially scheduled. they want to remove the rods as

soon as possible because of concerns about the storage pools quake resistance. high radiation levels will make it difficult to proceed. workers have faced other challenges. last september they accidentally dropped a 470 kilogram into reactor three spent fuel storage pool. that set them back nearly three months. it will be harder to figure out how to remove the melted fuel. managers plan to complete that process in ten years. to meet their deadline they need to have a preliminary survey and development of robotic tools. people across north eastern japan are looking ahead after the new year holiday. those in areas hit hardest by the earthquake and tsunami are reminded daily about their past. less than a third of the debris has been disposed of prer. rkers still need to dispose of

more than 27 million tons of refuse and sediment. they want it gone by march of next year. workers had only dealt with about a tenth of the debris. ministry officials say they have had difficulties with handling waste they can't burn and with building incinerators. they have been challenged with dealing with debris contaminated with radioactive substances. government officials have tried to set up temporary storage facilities but they have run into opposition. they say the pace of removal has delayed efforts and put a psychological burden on residents.

thousands of people waiting to go home. tons of debris waiting for disposal. vast tracts of land waiting to be restored. overcoming the challenges of japan's 2011 disaster won't be easy, but step by step, people are moving forward. find out how on "the road ahead," every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time, right here on "newsline." people who work at central banks have been hunched over their balance sheets and some are sympathying it's time to stop. >> recent economic conditions have pushed many central banks toward aggressive monetary easing measures but we're learning that policy makers are divided over the practice of monetary easing. the federal reserve board released on thursday the minutes of their december meeting. last month they decided on an injection of 85 billion dollars per month into the u.s. economy

including long term bond pressures. the minutes show almost all policymakers expressed concern. the monetary easing could cause inflation. agreement about the interest rate target. they decided to keep it to zero until unemployment falls below 6.5%. tokyo shake prire prices are su. it's at 10,678, gain of 7% from last year's close. just earlier it hit the highest intraday level. investors are buying across the board as the yen is weaker. let's take a look at that. the yen is trading lower against

the dollar right at 87.66 to 67. that is right about the lowest level in two years and four five months. traders are more optimistic about the u.s. economy and that's after u.s. lawmakers reached a deal to avert the negative impact from the fiscal cliff. yen selling continues as many traders are expecting the bank of japan to continue more monetary easing measures. the euro yen is quoted at 114.14 to 19. let's look at other markets. south korea's kospi trading lower by half a percent. the bench market index is trading lower by a quarter of a percent. asia plays an important role in the economy. starting today we'll bring you a

series of interviews with business and financial leaders. we spoke with him about growth and where to expect it. >> reporter: while the global economic outlook remains uncertain, the asia region remains a bright spot. >> it will recover to some extent. compared with u.s. and europe and also compared with latin america and africa. asia would be the fastest growing economy in the world. >> reporter: in contrast the japanese economy is showing sign s of weakness. the new prime minister says one of his top priority is to pull the nation o of deflation. >> how could jap deal with it? >> i think the monetary policy

always has some side effect. i understand. bank of japan not just inflation packet but mobilize and commit self to do in unlimited way. they should do anything and whatever amount. >> reporter: turning to china, many economists say the slowdown in the world's second largest economy has bottomed out. he knows china's ecomic

vitali won connue long term. >> we expect in short to medium term around 8% growth. it's quite possible for the change. the issue is long term. labor force will soon start to decline in china. >> how should they be prepared when china slows down? >> india will become next leader of asia's growth. india has large population.

huge room for catching up. then there are pakistan, bangladesh, vietnam. many countries in asia. i'm quite optimistic about the long determine growth prospect of asia as a whole. >> reporter: the asian economy has stayed relatively firm despite a recession in europe in the slowdown in the u.s. he points out more cooperation is needed in the region to prepare for further head winds. >> i think they should call it more to try to stabilize interregional relationship.

we will continue to be our strengths and activities in the area of cooperation. >> japan'sew government has pledged more to myanmar to help economic development. japan's finance minister was in the capital to meet myanmar's president. aso met finance and revenue minister. >> translator: we hope to maintain good bilateral relations just like our

predecessors. >> japan is considering more loans an grants. that's to help improve business infrastructure such as power and water systems. japan plans to play a leading role in building the special economic zone near myanmar's largest city. they hope mor japanese businesses wl setp in t area. more business led lines next hour. here is a check on markets.

protesters across india have joined voices angry about the lack of protection for woman. a gang attacked a woman on a bus last month. police have charged five men for rape and murder. the woman boarded the bus and the men raped her and dlu her off the bus. doctors flu her to singapore. she died last saturday. she was 23 years old. they demanded strict penalties for the accused it's provoked an international debate on sex crimes against woman. they urged the indian government to strengthen measures against sexual crimes. government leaders have started to consider stricter penalties an they are reviewing what they

can do to prevent sexual violence. journalists are finding it more and more dangerous to do their job. 88 journalists were killed last year. reporters without boarders says the number is one-third higher than the previous year and the highest since they started keeping track in 1995. the highest was in somalia. japanese freelance reporter was among the victims. members of the group say more citizen journalists were also killed. these nonprofessional reporters post videos on the internet. the death toll for citizen journalists was highest in syria. reporters without boarders say their effort was key of informing the world about the assad regime.

they're calling on government leaders to do everything they can to bring their family members home. japanese and north korean officials resume talks last august following a four year break. relatives say they feel frustrated with the pace of negotiations. many of them are in their 80s or older. the mother of one of the abductees died last year at the age of 89. families feel emotionally and physically exhausted. >> reporter: the abdtees have been waited to be rescued all these years. there's no time to wait. the government should treat is issue as its top priority. >> members of the group hope to collect ten million signatures on a petition asking the

government to do more. researchers at the japanese fishing industry are accelerating their study on blue fin tuna. their work addresses concern that a high demand for blue fin tuna leads to overharvesting of baby fish. farmers provide nearly 60% of the blue fin tuna japanese consumers eat. they grow the tuna in fish preserves from babies caught at sea. universitys and businesses have been studying how to raise blue fin from the hatching stage. they are having trouble maintaining the supply. it's difficult to control water temperatures best for spawning adult tuna. ministry officials plan to build a research facility in western japan and collaborate with universitys and companies for farming technologies. >> reporter: japan's project is expected to offer stable

supplies of the fish. >> they hope to raise 100,000 blue fin tuna annually in fiscal 2016. game based around traditional japanese poetry has been held in a shrine in the capital. 22 participants took part in the festivities on thursday. it features a collection of 100 short poems from the 7th through 13th century. in the game a reader recites the first half of the poem and

players compete by grabbing the latter half of the poem. >> translator: i love the experience and the atmosphere. >> more than 500 observers snapped photos. sumo wrestlers know a thing about eating. it's how they get big and stay big. no surprise that one of their traditions involve food. the grand champion attended the festival near tokyo. they wished residents a happy new year and tossed about 6,000 rice cakes to them. some consider the wrestlers symbol of strength and help. >> translator: we can be strong

and grand champions after eating these rice cakes. >> translator: i cake here today to wish for good health. i'm happy to get the cakes. >> translator: i was tossing the rice cakes praying for everyone's best wishes this year. >> he wants to impress his fans at tournament in 2013. some adults have to get used to electronic gadgets such as smart phones but many children are taking to them naturally. they are using smart phones and the educational apps designed for them to get smarter. >> reporter: the 31-year-old and her daughter live in tokyo. she's just a year and ten months old but already he's preoccupied with mom's smartphone. this app is favorite.

she touches a drawing of an animal. a photo pops up on screen and then it makes a sound. the apps maker made it to advance the intellect of young children. she started playing with the phone two or three months after she was born. now she uses six different educational apps. >> translator: it's really helpful for times when i can't give her my complete attention or when she starts throwing a tantrum in public. i hand this to her and she gives it all her attention. >> reporter: the youngsters at this nursery school are also going digital. turn the power on please. they use tablets for learning. the apps teach the children to write the japanese alphabet by tracing their fingers along the characters. more than ever teachers and

parents are turning to these devices to help them raise children. a market research company asked about 650 moms if they let their children use smartphones and other gadgets. two out of three mothers said they do a more than 80% said the devices are useful. software developers see great opportunity in educational apps. for example, this maker of karaoke machines. two years ago it started selling educational apps. now it offers 20 kinds. she's the mother of a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old. her goal is to make apps that help moms like her. recently she attended a luncheon with other mothers. she wanted to test a new app that teaches children to remember the map of the world

and gauge their reactions. >> translator: the earth stretched. it's turning. i think it's great. if you have children do this activity on paper, it doesn't really grab their attention. they love games so making a school doesn't seem like a game. it's a great solution. >>eporter: now the compa pls t concentraten educational apps and to sell the product in other countries. there's a tropical storm situated west of the philippines. to find out how it's affecting people nearby, we go to our meteorologist from the weather desk. >> people in parts of the philippines have been dealing with stormy weather due to a tropical storm. this is the first tropical storm of 2013.

the good news is that the system is pulling away from the country. the peak of stormy weather is over. wet and windy conditions will prolong throughout the philippines throughout the day today. the western side of the country will be quite unsettled due to a strong northeasterly wind flying into the center of the storm. down in the southern hemisphere in australia is hot. melbourne you're expecting highs reaching 41 degrees. that's about 15 degrees higher than seasonal. 44 degrees about also 15 degrees higher than average. a low humidity of only 5%. concerns will get back to normal across these key cities.

up towards january pan we're ta about snowy conditions. it's 40 centimeters of snow with gusts up to 108 kilometers into tonight. that's going to be accompanied by very high waves up to five meters. the good news is conditions will gradually improve on your saturday. moving into the american continent. it's fairly dry across the american continent from the west coast into the east coast. there are a few things to talk about. we're seeing winter storm conditions across new mexico and the panhandle. the snowfall could reach 25 centimeters. that's quite a lot for this region. snow will continue into friday morning.

snow showers can be found across south eastern canada. conditions are not too bad across the west coast today, but the next system is moving in from the pacific. temperatures across the u.s. and canada are looking like this. minus 7 in winnipeg. houston with a high of 9 degrees. new york city at 2 degrees. let's go over to europe. wet and windy across poland and the baltic space. we'll show you the figures in just a moment. conditions will get deteriorating across central europe. there's a new system coming in from the north. temperatures are quite warm. 12 degrees in paris and 11 degrees in london.

here is the extended forecast.

>> that's all for this edition of "newsline." thanks t thanks for joining us.